Morning Coffee: East dominates Stanley Cup favourites ahead of trade deadline

There can only be one 2022-23 Stanley Cup champion.

Based on the trade activity that has transpired in recent days, it’s clear that the majority of the general managers overseeing Eastern Conference teams currently in playoff positions believe their rosters have what it takes to win it all this season.

The Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have all significantly upgraded their rosters via trades in recent weeks.

Not to be forgotten, the Tampa Bay Lightning finally got involved in the action on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes still linger as a legitimate contender that could also improve with a potential trade upgrade this week.

All of this makes for quite the situation at the top of the East.

As it stands right now, six Eastern Conference teams rank among the top seven choices to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel.

With TradeCentre 2023 nearly upon us, it’s going to be very interesting to see if one or more of those Eastern Conference contenders can swing the type of impact trade that would force FanDuel to adjust their Stanley Cup odds ahead of Friday’s deadline.

This is the Morning Coffee for Monday Feb. 27, 2023.

Six Of The Top Seven Choices To Win Stanley Cup Are From The East

Remember when the Rangers made that blockbuster trade for Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues a couple of weeks ago?

Remember how that was supposed to take them out of the Patrick Kane sweepstakes?

As it turns out, that wasn’t entirely true. The Kane to New York rumours remained rampant throughout the weekend, so much so that at least one fan at Madison Square Garden acted prematurely.

What would the addition of Kane mean for the Rangers in the Stanley Cup futures market?

As someone who got them at a very decent number back in the summer, I hope Kane ends up in New York.

At this point, it’s safe to say that the Rangers already have one of the most talented rosters in the NHL. Still, they’re only the fifth choice to win the Eastern Conference at FanDuel.

The Bruins, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs and Devils all have shorter odds to win the East than New York right now.

The Lightning round out the top six choices to win the conference.

All six of those teams rank among the top seven choices to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel this morning.

Boston remains the consensus favourite at +500 to win the Stanley Cup and +310 to win the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins are followed by the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes at +700 to win the Stanley Cup.

After the big three, it’s New Jersey, Toronto, New York, and Tampa Bay that round out the top seven choices. Six of those seven teams reside in the East.

After that, it’s six straight Western Conference teams in the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets and the Calgary Flames.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s still the Avalanche and then everyone else in the Western Conference.

That sentiment is reflected in FanDuel’s odds to win both the Stanley Cup and the conference.

It’s a much different vibe in the Eastern Conference.

As mentioned, I backed the Rangers to win it all at a great price, so I’m pulling for Kane to New York.

The Bruins already added Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals last Thursday.

That move came after the Maple Leafs acquired Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari in a blockbuster trade with the St. Louis Blues.

On Sunday evening, the Devils made a huge splash with the addition of Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks.

On Sunday night, the Lightning added Tanner Jeannot from the Nashville Predators.

With the trades coming in fast and furious, we might not have many deals left to be made by the time that TradeCentre 2023 rolls around.

At the same time, the battle for supremacy in the East has created a fascinating challenge to upgrade as much as possible ahead of Friday’s deadline.

My money is on a couple more impact trades involving those Eastern Conference contenders.

Maple Leafs, Lightning on a collision course once again

The Rangers and Maple Leafs both picked up convincing victories on Sunday night.

Vincent Trocheck scored twice in less than two minutes as New York beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 as a -172 money line favourite at FanDuel.

Mitch Marner recorded his 46 career three-point game in a 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken as a -158 money line favourite on the road.

NHL favourites went 5-1 overall on Sunday with the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Lightning 7-3 in a game that closed as a pick’em at FanDuel.

Based on the current standings, it appears far more likely than not that the Maple Leafs will play Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs.

It’s remarkable that one of those teams will be destined for a first-round exit.

Toronto is currently +950 to win the Stanley Cup and +470 to win the East at FanDuel. The Lightning are +1200 to win the Cup and +700 to win the East.

It was Dame Time in Portland again Sunday night

In case you missed it, it was that time again in Portland last night.

Damian Lillard scored a career-high 71 points in a 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets.

His points and three-point scoring props both cashed in the first half alone.

He made a career-high 13 three-point shots in the win, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to make that many in a single game.

NBA home teams went 7-2 straight up and 5-3-1 against the spread on Sunday.

Meanwhile, NBA favourites went 8-1 straight up at FanDuel.